2022

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Born on January 2, 1873, Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin was the youngest of nine children. She was well-loved and had an idyllic childhood. However, loss came to her at a tender age of four when her mother died of breast cancer.

Brought up in a deeply religious home, St. Therese’s piousness and piety developed at an early age. Her mother wanted to be a saint and her father had wanted to be a monk before they got married. Four of her elder sisters became nuns. St. Therese herself entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux when she turned 15.

Life in the Carmelite convent consisted of prayers and rigorous domestic work. Despite her frail health, St. Therese persevered. She said that she came to the Carmel convent “to save souls and pray for priests.” She faced judgment and was the subject of gossip at times while she was in the convent. These did not deter her, instead she responded to these criticisms with the attitude of love. Her doctrine of the Little Way became known. She practiced her philosophy that what is important is not doing what is great but doing little things with the power of love.

St. Therese, also known as the Little Flower of Jesus, died of tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925. She was the youngest and one of only three females to be declared as Doctors of the Catholic Church.

Sources:

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John 14:21

Verse:

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” - John 14:21

Prayer To Keep God’s Commandments

God, ruler of all things, I pray today that I keep your commandments. I want to be more righteous, more loving, and more forgiving. I love you and know that you love me. Be with me, correct me, and lead me to do your will. I ask for forgiveness today, Amen.

Sources:

Original version of the prayer: https://dailyprayerguide.net/a-prayer-to-keep-gods-commandments-john-14-21/

John 14:21 Read More »

Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome is particularly important for having made a translation of the Bible which came to be called the Vulgate. It is not the most critical edition of the Bible, but its acceptance by the Church was fortunate. As a modern scholar says, “No man before Jerome or among his contemporaries and very few men for many centuries afterwards were so well qualified to do the work.” The Council of Trent called for a new and corrected edition of the Vulgate, and declared it the authentic text to be used in the Church. After these preparatory studies, he traveled extensively in Palestine, marking each spot of Christ’s life with an outpouring of devotion. Mystic that he was, he spent five years in the desert of Chalcis so that he might give himself up to prayer, penance, and study. Finally, he settled in Bethlehem, where he lived in the cave believed to have been the birthplace of Christ. Jerome died in Bethlehem, and the remains of his body now lie buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

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John 4:24

Verse:

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” - John 4:24

Prayer To Trust God’s Word

Heavenly Father, thank You that You sent Jesus to be born as a man. I pray that like Christ I may live my life trusting Your Word, in submission to the Holy Spirit and in total dependence upon You, so that I may worship You as You desire... in spirit and in truth, to Your praise and glory, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Sources:

Original version of the prayer: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/John/4/24

John 4:24 Read More »

Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael

Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael Read More »

Angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named.

Michael appears in Daniel’s vision as “the great prince” who defends Israel against its enemies; in the Book of Revelation, he leads God’s armies to final victory over the forces of evil. Devotion to Michael is the oldest angelic devotion, rising in the East in the fourth century. The Church in the West began to observe a feast honoring Michael and the angels in the fifth century.

Gabriel also makes an appearance in Daniel’s visions, announcing Michael’s role in God’s plan. His best-known appearance is an encounter with a young Jewish girl named Mary, who consents to bear the Messiah.

Raphael’s activity is confined to the Old Testament story of Tobit. There he appears to guide Tobit’s son Tobiah through a series of fantastic adventures which lead to a threefold happy ending: Tobiah’s marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobit’s blindness, and the restoration of the family fortune.
The memorials of Gabriel and Raphael were added to the Roman calendar in 1921. The 1970 revision of the calendar joined their individual feasts to Michael’s.

Matthew 26:41

Verse:

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” - Matthew 26:41

Prayer Against Temptation

By Your grace, Father, empower me to reject sin. Fill me with Your Spirit and remind me that I am a new creation in Christ. Although I once walked in sin and darkness, by the salvation I now possess, I no longer am bound to walk in those former ways. To You, who gives the power to be witnesses in our lives, and by Your Son’s name, I pray. Amen.

Sources:

Matthew 26:41 Read More »

Original version of the prayer: https://connectusfund.org/10-powerful-prayers-for-temptation

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz Read More »

Lorenzo was born in Manila of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, both Christians. Thus he learned Chinese and Tagalog from them, and Spanish from the Dominicans whom he served as altar boy and sacristan. He became a professional calligrapher, transcribing documents in beautiful penmanship. He was a full member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary under Dominican auspices. He married and had two sons and a daughter. He joined a Dominican missionary expedition in Japan in order to escape arrest for a crime of which he was accused. He was arrested by the Japanese authorities in Nagasaki, tortures and executed in September 1637. It was said that during his last moments, he uttered these lines to their executioners,

“I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God.Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him, shall I offer.”

In 1987, Pope John Paul II canonized these six and 10 others: Asians and Europeans, men and women, who spread the faith in the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan. Lorenzo Ruiz is the first canonized Filipino martyr.

Lapay Bantigue Dance Festival

Philippine Regional Festival

It is a local dance art festival that originated from the graceful movements of hovering birds known as seagulls or the LAPAY, found abundant in Barangay Bantigue, Masbate. Flocks of lapay seagulls created a marvelous scenery and inspired the old folks to come up with a local folk dance, that since then has exited and has become an important aspect of the local culture of the people of Brgy. Banitgue and the entire Masbate. It is a day of art, music, and festivity for the beauty of creation.

Lapay Bantigue Dance Festival Read More »

Revelation 1:8

Verse:

“ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” - Revelation 1:8

Prayer For Admiration

Loving Father, Creator God, thank you for all you have given us. Thank you for your creation. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for being truthful and dependable. Thank you for providing a way through your Son, Jesus, so I can have eternal worship with you in heaven.

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